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Glite Dictionary
caput

caput

1 9.9
The round end of a bone or organ shaped like a head
  • noun
  • /ˈkæpʊt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : caput
  • The caput of the femur is the rounded end that fits into the hip joint.
  • caput mortuum violet

Examples

  • In human anatomy, the caput of the humerus forms part of the shoulder joint.

  • Examining the caput of the heart, we can better understand its function in the circulatory system.

  • Phone calls, buses, and it's caput.

    Carbon Copy (1981)

  • Caput Draconis.

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

  • A city that stands at the head of a vast empire is both strengthened and weakened by the proliferation of territories: strengthened as the symbolic caput mundi, weakened as a center of real power.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

capitellum
vscaput
  • Specialized
9.9

A small round knob on the end of a bone, for example at the elbow

is a broader head-shaped protuberance rather than a small specific knob

Compounds

Elymus caput-medusae
  • Specialized
9.9

A wild grass with long sharp bristles on its seed heads that spread and harm fields

Euphorbia caput-medusae
  • South African
9.9

A small African plant with thick stems and many long, snake-like branches

Surface Forms

caput singular
caputs plural
capita plural

Etymology

Caput comes from a Latin word meaning 'head', and you can see the same idea in English words like capital (the 'head' city) and decapitate ('remove the head'). In anatomy, caput names the round 'head' or top end of a bone or organ, so the word still means the 'head' part of something.